Five Ways High-Performing Schools Use Data to Help Students Succeed

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Across the country, most teachers do not have the resources or the training to make informed decisions driven by data. In a 2020 poll from the Data Quality Campaign, only 31% of educators strongly agreed that they had access to the student data they needed, and 46% said they did not receive training or resources about how to assess student learning and progress.

And yet, systematic and regular use of data is at the heart of successful schools. In a recent series from Education Reform Now, we surveyed 53 principals, assistant principals and superintendents across Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas and Georgia to understand the strategies central to the success of their high-performing, high-poverty spotlight schools. Despite a wide range of geographies and school models, all of them agreed: Data is key.

While DQC’s polling indicates that most teachers struggle to access and mobilize the data they need, 100% of the leaders from the “spotlight schools” we surveyed agreed that data and assessments are very important for professional development. This highlights how these schools have invested in building data literacy so that all their educators understand what the data means and how to use it to help students succeed. 

During follow-up interviews, “data” was the most frequently mentioned word, with administrators describing extensive use of both academic and non-academic data to shape a wide range of decision-making.

But what does effective data use actually look like in practice? Here are five ways schools are leveraging data:

1. Daily instruction

Quick quizzes and assignments can be used to briefly assess students at the end of lessons to gauge their understanding of the material covered. This serves as live data to help teachers adjust instruction in real-time. At IDEA Carver Academy in San Antonio, Texas, administrators design end-of-lesson quizzes — exit tickets — to monitor content mastery consistently across classes. Teachers discuss the data with one another during daily “exit ticket huddles” to determine appropriate instructional adjustments.

2. Interventions

Implementing tests to evaluate student learning throughout the year allows educators to identify which children need extra help, inform how they are grouped, shape instructional priorities during intervention blocks and monitor progress.

Several spotlight schools in Massachusetts leverage data cycles to shape WIN (“What I Need”) time — a type of small-group instruction. Nicole Mack, executive director of Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston, uses “June data to start the first round of interventions during the second week of school. …Then we do five intervention cycles across the course of the year, where our administrative team does the review of our data to identify the kids that should go into the different interventions,” such as tutoring or extended learning time.

In Texas, administrators are guided by Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), which serve as specific, detailed standards that are aligned with the state’s standardized exams. At Ortiz Elementary in Brownsville, Principal Julie Peña says, “We monitor data on a regular basis to help identify the TEKS that have not yet been mastered and plan targeted instruction. … If students are missing a TEKS, then we regroup the students and we make sure that we’re giving them lessons that are geared toward learning those skills. So if a student is falling behind, they are asked to participate in tutorials, they are asked to come on Saturdays and they’re given the reviews targeted to what it is that they’re missing.”

3. Professional development

Both academic and non-academic data can be leveraged to pinpoint professional development sessions that address key shortcomings, evaluate the effectiveness of these sessions and identify educators who may benefit from further coaching or support. For example, at IDEA Carver Academy, administrators collect data through “cultural and instructional observations” each week using the GET Rubric — a benchmarked tool designed to objectively evaluate what teachers are doing well and how they can improve, Principal Laura Flack says. These rubrics, alongside classroom climate, exit ticket and disciplinary data, are then “reviewed, and professional development is created to address areas of need across the campus.”

4. Chronic absenteeism

As schools navigate unprecedented levels of chronic absenteeism, it is vital to collect detailed data to properly identify, diagnose and monitor the issue. For example, Rocky Mountain Prep charter schools in Denver have teams that collect attendance data each morning and call the families of each student who is absent. Teachers are notified of the total absences for the day, how many students came to school after their parents were called and who teachers should follow up with.

5. Student and family empowerment

Data isn’t just a tool for educators — it also empowers students to take an active role in their learning and helps parents better support their children’s academic growth. At Eastside Elementary School in Grady County, Georgia, Principal Chiquila Wright reports that students have one-on-one “data talks” with their teachers to discuss their interim test scores. Families are engaged through trainings that teach parents how to “understand their child’s assessment scores and how to support growth at home.”

Data is not a new concept. However, it is one that is too often underutilized in education. Children cannot learn and schools cannot thrive based on subjective observations and good intentions alone. The data revolution is already here, and it’s time students reaped the benefits.

Click here to learn more about “spotlight schools” and dive into our latest Georgia report

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